Brave boys in blue, and Brits behaving badly

If you are of the opinion that every tourist is an ambassador for his or her country, well let me introduce the British Ambassador.

The unnamed British gentleman was arrested after being found swimming in one of the moats of the Imperial Palace. After crossing the moat, he scaled a 25-foot wall, before chasing away a posse of police and onlookers, armed with a stone.

Going for a second dip as police armed to the teeth with sticks closed in, he re-crossed the moat and climbed another wall, at the top of which he was arrested and carted off by presumably more highly-trained special forces. He was later released without charge.

You might think that what had me shaking my head in disbelief was that the man was a compatriot. True, but it was also the way the police handled the situation – as if they were dealing with an escaped zoo animal. It took them an hour and a half to get near enough to arrest him. I can’t imagine police elsewhere running scared from a naked man, even if he was carrying a big stone.

Well, a bit of skinny-dipping could be put down to exuberance. Everything that followed, though, would have to be illness, wouldn’t you say? But if he’s not mentally ill, it’ll make some story to tell when he gets back to Spain.

Police thought he was originally, but later reports revealed he was a British national currently living in Spain (they thought he was Spanish because he was there with a group of Spaniards). He was then handed over to the British Embassy.